Sermon Central
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Trusting The Rope?
Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Apr 18, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: We need to gab the Censers from the altar and run to intercede for others.
Are you trusting the rope?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.
Kyfingers@aol.com
Where are the dinosaurs?
Years ago, while traveling down Highway 23 in eastern Kentucky, we would pass by a beautiful brick church. It was in an ideal location.
The church was closed and the windows were broken out, there had not been services there for many years.
I pondered one day -- wonder what happened to that church? Why is it closed, and the windows
broken out and the weeds all growing around?
On one trip, I pondered this aloud? My oldest son, then 9 or 10, said, I know Dad, I know why it is vacant?
I said, well OK, tell me?
He replied, LOOK THE GRAVE YARD IS FULL ALL AROUND THE CHURCH, ALL THEIR MEMBERS DIED! They never reached out to the next generation?
My heart was broken, for there was probably an element of truth to this lesson? God help me to reach and intercede for others!
I am pondering about how serious the day in which we
live could be?
I am pondering how easy it is to be satisfied with
substitutes.
We can doctor the symptom, and the disease still kill?
It is a beautiful thing to see the flag waving in
the yards and on the cars all around us.
We have sought the heart of God for the renewing of
this nation.
We cannot substitute patriotism for the cross.
Sincere Christianity and true patriotism have much in
common.
We need both, but the priority must be on the cross.
Patriotism consist not just in waving the flag, but
in striving that our country shall be righteous, as
well as strong.
Righteousness exalts a nation!
If we don’t stand for something,
we shall fall for anything.
It could be a great danger, in the perilous times
that we live, to substitute patriotism for
Christianity.
Some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Psalms 20:7.
MANY ARE TRUSTING THE ROPE? (unknown)
They tell the story of a mountain climber, who
desired to conquer the Aconcagua Mountain in
Argentina, near the Chilean border.
The Aconcagua Mountain is the highest mountain in
the Andes, and the highest mountain in the western
hemisphere.
This man initiated his climb after years of
preparation.
This man decided he would climb this mountain all by
himself for he wanted all the glory to himself.
He knew better, so against all advice he went up
alone.
He started climbing and soon it was getting
later ... and later.
He did not prepare for camping, but decided to keep
on climbing higher and higher.
Then it got dark ... night fell with a great
heaviness at a very high altitude.
Visibility was zero.
Everything was black.
There was no moon, and the stars were covered by
clouds.
He had no sense of direction, alone and no direction?
As he was climbing a ridge at about 100 meters from
the top, he slipped and fell.
Falling rapidly he could only see blotches of
darkness that passed.
He felt a terrible sensation of being sucked in by
gravity.
He kept falling ...
and in those anguishing moments good and bad
memories passed through his mind.
He thought certainly he would die.
But then he felt a jolt that almost tore him in
half.
Like any good mountain climber, he had safely staked
himself with a long rope tied to his waist.
In those moments of stillness, suspended in the air
he had no other choice but to shout,
"HELP ME, GOD! HELP ME!"
All of a sudden he heard a deep voice from
heaven:
"What do you want me to do?"
"SAVE ME!" He replied.
God answered, "Do you REALLY think that I can save
you?"
"OF COURSE, MY GOD, you can do anything."
The man heard a voice,
"Then cut the rope that is holding you up."
There was another moment of silence and stillness.
The man just held tighter to the rope.
The next morning the rescue team said that they
found a frozen mountain climber hanging strongly to
a rope ... TWO FEET OFF THE GROUND.
It is so easy in a time of crisis to trust in ropes, chariots, and horses, but God has a plan.
Will we trust God’s plan?
Nothing can happen to you that you and God cannot
handle.
Today we trust in many counselors,
we have professional, polished counselors,
but where is the counsel of the Lord?
Where is the altar?
We are thankful for counsel.
The Bible records in
Proverbs 11: 14 Where no counsel is, there the
people fall: but in the multitude of counselors
there is safety.
We also must heed the warning from:
2 Chron. 32:8, With him is the arm of the flesh;
